Saguaro develops non-toxic live cell dyes, such as ChromaLIVE and NucleoLIVE, that enable real-time imaging and quantification of cellular states without disrupting gene expression. These technologies facilitate accurate assessments of drug efficacy and cell viability, addressing the challenges of traditional toxic assays in drug discovery.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Traditional cell viability assays often rely on toxic substances that disrupt cellular processes and gene expression, leading to inaccurate assessments of drug efficacy and potential off-target effects during drug discovery. These methods can also be cumbersome and may not be suitable for long-term live cell imaging and quantification.
Solution
Saguaro Biosciences develops and provides a suite of non-toxic, live cell dyes that enable real-time imaging and quantification of cellular states without perturbing gene expression or normal cell function. Their ChromaLIVE, NucleoLIVE, and LIVE-Dead Stain products are designed for mix-and-read assays, allowing researchers to easily monitor cell viability, proliferation, and drug response over extended periods. These dyes offer stable labeling and do not fluoresce in media, reducing background noise and improving the accuracy of high-content screening and other cell-based assays. By using these dyes, researchers can gain more comprehensive biological insights and improve the efficiency of drug discovery workflows.
Target Audience
The primary target audience includes researchers in drug discovery, cell biology, and related fields who require accurate and non-disruptive methods for assessing cell viability, proliferation, and drug response in live cells.
Features
- ChromaLIVE: A non-toxic dye for evaluating drug performance in high-content screens and live cell painting to quantify a broad range of cell states.
- NucleoLIVE: Enables stable labeling of nuclei over multiple days for accurate cell counts, segmentation, and cell viability studies without lentiviral transduction.
- LIVE-Dead Stain: A mix-and-read assay for assessing cell viability and cytotoxicity in real time over multiple days, designed to be non-perturbing to cell biology.
- Mix-and-read format: One-step dye application that does not require wash steps, simplifying workflows and reducing cell stress.
- Non-toxic formulation: Maintains normal gene expression and cellular function, providing more physiologically relevant data.
- Stable labeling: Allows for long-term monitoring of cellular processes without significant dye degradation or photobleaching.